Integral cleat container



Jan. 12, 1960 R. M. BRUCE INTEGRAL cum CONTAINER 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledApril 22, 1957 IRJVENTOR R. M. BRUCE vzZZ' ATTORNEYS Jan. 12 1960 R. M.BRUCE 2,920,807

INTEGRAL CLEAT CONTAINER Filed April 22, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORR. M. BRUCE BY ATTORNEYS Jan. 12, 1960 R. M. BRUCE 2,920,

INTEGRAL CLEAT CONTAINER Filed April 22, 1957 3 Sheets-Shet s FIG. 6

INVENTOR R. M. BRUCE BY W WJf-Z' ATTORNEYS Unitdf stats i 2,920,807 7INTEGRAL CLEAT CONTAINER Robert M. Bruce, E mi in ne. ApplicationApril'22,'1957, Serial No. 654,301 2 Claims. (Cl. 229-33 This inventionrelates to the packaging and handling of commodities, and moreparticularly to containers of various kinds designed both to holdproducts but also to-protect-the same from injury whiletso held duringstorage and equipment.

In the container fieldthere are almost, as many kinds of packages asthere are products and there are almost as many materials used as thereare packages. This is not unexpected because more and more, with theprogress of science, the packaging of products to obtain maximumprotection at minimum cost has become almost standard procedure.

One of the most widely used containers today is a corrugated box the useof whichhas increased phenomenally over the years. This increase may beattributed both to improvement in materials employed and to the designof the package enabling gradual increase in the weight of the loadscarried. When corrugated and solid fiber boxes began to prove inadequatethey were constructed of heavier materials, and thereafter the containerwas strengthened by ,theaddition of reinforcing cleats in thecorrugated, the fiberboard, the plywood, andthe .wire bound containers.The change-over to the cleated container was. not sharply defined butwas over a rather wide and overlapping period determined by the load tobe carried and the conditions to which the package is intended to besubjected in handling, transporting, storing, and warehousing.

and bottom members reversely disposed and with wood reinforcing stripsdisposed lengthwise of the bottom;

Fig. '5, a perspective of slightly modified container in which thereinforcing folds of the front and rear sides of the body are internalinstead of external as in the preceding figures and in which the top iscomposed of a pair It is an object of the invention to provide acontainer of simple and inexpensive construction, which can be readilymanufactured from readily available materials, and which is of greaterstrength and durability than containers heretofore in use.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved container ofcorrugated or solid fiberboard integrally reinforced and capable ofbeing used where loads are heavier and it is necessary that thecontainer be of greater strength due to such loads as well as having thecapacity for being readily stacked in warehouses, handled by fork-lifts,and of withstanding severe transportation conditions. r

Another object of the invention is to provide an integral cleatcontainer which includes reinforcing folds or ribs located where maximumstrength and resistance to stress are desired and in which the parts maybe united by adhesion, staples, or interlocking of the parts and also acontainer in which the side and end portions may be integral orseparate.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description in conjunction with the accompanying drawingswherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective illustrating one application of the inventionfabricated from a single blank;

Fig. 2, a similar view of a container having separate top and bottommembers inset;

Fig. 3, a section on the line 3--3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4, a perspective of a container having separate top container thewalls of which, where the greatest stress is' likely to be imposed, arereinforced by stiifeners or cleats integral with or independent of thewalls of which the container is formed and with the reinforcing foldsjoined by adhesive or by staples or other fasteners and with thereinforcing ribs optionally coated for strength and for resistance toweather.

With continued reference to the drawings, the container of the presentinvention comprises sides 10 and 11, ends 12 and 13, a bottom composedof half-sections 14 and 15, and a top composed of half-sections 16 and17, the

end 12 is provided with flaps 18 and 19 and the end 13' is provided withflaps 20 and 21. The sides, ends, top and bottom may be formed of asingle piece of material and the container is reinforced around each endand around its center where maximum stress is likely to be encountered.Such reinforcement comprises increased thickness. For example, the end12 has a terminus'12' and the opposed portion of the ends are providedwith a series of folds 22. Thereafter, the blank extends along the side10 and is provided with a central group of folds 23 and end folds 24 atthe remote extremity of the side 10, the material of the blank thenforms end 13 and the end. folds 25 on thte side 11 which also hascentral folds 26 at the center of the side 11 and the final'grou'p ofreinforcing folds 27 where such side joins end 12 of the container. Eachgroup of folds provides arcinforcing cleat for preventing bulging ofthecontainer while permitting stacking of the containers without damage tothe contents.

The side 11 has a bottom flap 14 and a top flap 16 which form half ofeach the bottom and top of the container, the bottom flap havingtransverse end flaps 28, central reinforcing folds 29 and remote endreinforcing folds 30, while the top-section 16 has end reinforcing folds31, central reinforcing folds 32, and remote end reinforcing folds 33.

In like manner the bottom 15 and the top 17 are provided withcorresponding transverse reinforcing folds.

The container of Fig. 2 is similar to that of Fig. 1 except that it iscomposed of side portions 10' and 11' and end portions 12 and 13, all ofa single piece of material beginning at the near edge of the end 12' asin the preceding figure, such end having reinforcing folds 34 fastenedtogether by adhesive 35 and staples or other fasteners 36. At the backedge of the end 12 the material of the blank is provided with a seriesof reinforcing folds 38 and a similar series of folds 39 along thecenter of such side and at the opposite end with reinforcing folds 40.Likewise the end 13' is provided with reinforcing folds 41 and the side11' is provided with reinforcing folds 42, 43 and 44.

A closure 45 is employed for closing the top and bottom of the containersuch closure having reinforcing ribs 46, 47, 48 and 49 fastened in placeby staples 50 or other Patented Jan l 1960 corrugated or solidfiberboard scored for fasteners. Closure 45 has a compartment within theconfines of the same composed of the main body of the closure and theoutwardly turned edges thereof.

In Fig. 4, the container is the same as that of Fig.

2, however, the opposed closures 51 are slightly different,

the longitudinal reinforcing folds 52 along the edges being internallydisposed while the transverse end reinforcing folds 53 and 54 areexternally disposed, and the bottom of the container is supported by apair of reinforcing bars 55 for added strength.

In Fig. is disclosed a container in which the transverse reinforcingfolds 56, 57, 58, 59, 60 and 61 are located within the container insteadof exteriorly thereof, asfolds 22 to 27 inclusive as in Fig. 1.

In'Fig.6 is disclosed a blank 62 of fiberboard, corrugated board, or thelike having fold lines 63 to facilitate the folding of the blank.

Figs. 7 to 14 inclusive illustrate various ways in which the blank 62may be folded to provide reinforcement for'the walls and joints of thecontainer requiring reinforcement as shown in Fig. 7. This blank isprovided with multiple folds 164 fastened together by means of adhesive65 and staples 66.

In Fig. 8 the structure is the same except that a cap or cover strip 67has been added.

In Fig. 9 the blank 62 is provided with a series of folds 68 which arespaced apart and receive a complementary member composed of multiplefolds 69 with .staples 70 holding them together.

In Fig. blank 62 is provided with a pair of spaced folds 71.and 72 whichfit into a multi-folde'd member having 4 folds 73 the outer two of whichreceive the folds 71 and 72 with the parts fastened togetheraspreviously described including staples 74.

In Fig. 11 the blank is folded so that it will have opposed pairs offolds 75 and 76 parallel to the body of the blank.

In Fig. 12 the structure is similar to that of Fig. 11 except the blankis provided with only one pair of folds, namely folds 77 and 78 inopposed relation along the blank 62.

In Fig. 13 the blank 62 is provided with a fold corresponding with thatof Fig. 12 except along the center of the integral connection there isformed a dovetail fold 79 providing in effect a triple fold.

In Fig. 14 the blank 62 has a pair of U-shaped folds 80 and 81 parallelto each otherand to the sheet which forms the blank 62,.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that a container is providedwhich is reinforced where required so that it will be suitable formaterials of various kinds. The container may be made of a number ofdifferent materials capable of withstanding heavy loads, warehousestacking, fork lift handling and severe transportation conditions.Basically, it is a design whereby structural stilfeners or cleats aremade directly from the container blank itself. As the folds are made andsecured with adhesive or staples or both, they may be used plain orcoated or dipped for stiffening, as well as for strength and waterresistance.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes maybe made in the invention without departing from the spirit andscopethereof and therefore the invention is not limited by that which isillustrated in the drawings and described in the specification, but onlyas indicated in the accompanying claims.

What is claimed. is:

1. A strong fiberboard container of substantially rectangularcross-section having fiat side and end walls with unobstructed innersurfaces thereof, all of the side walls thereof being provided with aplurality of like integral folded portions secured together in face toface relation and projecting outwardly-therefrom intermediate the endsof the side walls and being perpendicular to the outer face of said sidewalls to provide reinforcing ribs on therouter surface of said sidewalls, at least two of the side walls being integral along the hingeline and said reinforcing ribs being substantially severed at said hingeline and forming a right angular notch thereat wherein the hinging ofsaid side walls is permitted.

2. The invention according to claim 1 wherein the ends of said sidewalls have similarly formed reinforcing ribs, the outer face of saidlast named ribs being secured tothe edges of the adjacent end walls.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,063,845 Weiss June 3, 1913 1,132,292 Weiss Mar. 16, 1915 1,132,293,Weiss Mar. 16, 1915 1,667,793 Mauser 'May 1, 1928 2,164,517 Greve "July4, 1939 2,792,166 Brooks May 14, 1957

